Keep Taste of Saugatuck in your weekend plans

The event is free to enter. Food tickets are 50 cents with no item more than $5.

Jim Hayden

The 24th annual Taste of Saugatuck is noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, on Water Street at Wicks Park, downtown Saugatuck.

Thousands of people will be listening to the music and sampling barbecue sandwiches, margarita chicken, gyros, saganaki, roasted chicken, pork ribs, ice cream desserts, pies, pizza and various wraps and sandwiches.

“Every year we see more restaurants involved. The crowds are also growing,” said co-chairwoman Sharon Shanahan.

The event is free to enter. Food tickets are 50 cents with no item more than $5.

Participating restaurants include Mermaid Bar & Grill, The White House Bistro, Wicks Park Bar & Grille, The Hickory Pit, Spectators, River Market, Kilwin’s, Salt of the Earth, Fennville Station, Uncommon Grounds, Earls Farm Market and Zing; A beer tent featuring brews from the Saugatuck Brewing Company will be on scene along with wine from Fenn Valley, Tabor Hill and Round Barn.

Wicks Park will be alive with the classic rock and guitar of Rock Shop and Random Play will be serving up favorites from the 1960s through the 1990s. A special area is available to entertain children and Shoreline Realtor’s dunk tank gives participants a chance to take aims at local celebrities.

Organizers of the Taste of Saugatuck have mixed food and entertainment with fundraising for scholarships for years. This year, organizers are cooking up cash for a scholarship for a student entering the hospitality and culinary industry.

“Since the money is raised from a food event, we are adding an additional scholarship earmarked for our industry,” said David Barton, co-chairman of the event.

For more information, call the Saugatuck-Douglas Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at (269) 857-1701 or visit www.saugatuck.com.